Howey Fears College Invasion -- Permanently

HOWEY-IN-THE-HILLS — The spectre of invasion looms over this retirement community of 600.

Residents fear the Lake County town soon may be engulfed by the private DeSisto College, which opened its doors to 21 students this fall.

Already city fathers have revised the zoning laws, rewritten the official definition of a family and installed locks in city hall -- all in response to the college's announcement that it plans to use the town as its campus.

Michael DeSisto, who founded a nationally known private high school that brought 150 teen-agers to Howey, as well as the new college, said the town is reacting hysterically.

The furor started a few months ago when city officials learned that the college had bought a house overlooking Little Lake Harris and planned to use it for student counseling sessions.

City zoning board Chairman Tom Line said he learned the college planned to use homes for dormitories, classrooms and other school facilities when a college official called in October to inform him that the college was buying a house at 703 N. Lake Shore Drive for $120,000.

''I said I was totally against that and asked them to wait,'' said Line. ''But they went ahead anyway.''

Line said the area was zoned for residential use and is inappropriate for college facilities.

After that, city officials began checking the records; they say the college and school now may own dozens of homes.

''We have a lot of questions and not many answers,'' said Mayor Paul Mazade. He said there was no record of college officials ever going to the council and detailing their plans.

Residents in Howey circulated a petition urging the city to keep non- residential uses out of residential areas. The city has a small commercial zone that includes city hall and some businesses.

The rest of Howey, including the DeSisto School at Howey and the DeSisto College, is zoned residential.

''I wanted to show how Howey residents felt about allowing classes and dormitories in residential areas,'' said Ann Griffin, a Howey resident since 1972, who helped organize the petition drive.

''It's a very bad situation,'' she said. ''We don't really know what's going on but it looks as if they are trying to take over the town.''

The city council is preparing to give final approval to a new zoning ordinance banning schools and other non-residential uses and creating a new special public facilities district.

In response to residents who feared having dormitories appear in their neighborhoods, the council also is amending its formal definition of a family, which now allows up to six unrelated people to live in a single unit. The number will drop to three.

The DeSisto school and college are Howey's biggest taxpayer, contributing at least $40,000 of the city's $100,000 in property taxes last year. In addition, DeSisto donated a small public park and water fountain next to city hall, and the school has held open houses for the community and taken part in community events.

But at the council meeting one resident said she had raised her children and didn't want to be bothered now by other people's.

''If that's unfair, I'm sorry,'' she said.

Last week Mazade ordered locks installed at city hall after a 290-signature petition demanding a halt to non-residential uses in residential zones vanished.

Without accusing anyone of theft, he ordered tighter security at city hall. Students, who pay $15,000 a year to attend the college, are trying to take the fuss in stride, but concede it bothers them.

''It is kind of silly,'' said Paul Delaney, a freshman from New Hampshire. ''But when you stop and say 'hi' to people on the street, they kind of hesitate now. You try not to take it personally but you have to wonder.''

The city zoning board and the city council are composed of virtually all new members who weren't aware of DeSisto's purchases.

Former city council member Paul LaHoty said he knew DiSisto was buying property but thought it was for faculty residences.

''It wasn't that they were doing anything secretly, it was just something that happened gradually and we weren't aware of it,'' LaHoty said.

DeSisto opened the high school six years ago on the grounds of the old Howey Academy to serve students with emotional problems or learning disabilities. At the time he converted several nearby residences to school facilities.

When the college opened this fall, two houses used by the school were converted to dormitories. College officials said they planned for some students to stay at the high school dormitory, others at a college dormitory building on Palm Avenue across from the school, and the older students in homes the college plans to buy. Officials said the plan was for four or five students and a faculty member to live in each house.